High Capital Station Trading

Expansion

The main appeal of station trading is that it provides a large return on investment with little effort. It is simple enough to double or triple a few hundred million ISK in a matter of days. However, if not properly invested, this additional capital can provide little to no increase in revenue. For this reason, a thorough knowledge of high capital station trading is crucial for the budding trader.

High Capital Station Trading

There are three paths you can take when investing additional ISK in station trading. Each path serves a purpose, and neither can be said to be objectively better than another, overall.

Order Quantity

One investment strategy for high capital station trading is to increase the number of orders you have. This means trading in a broader selection of items. This strategy allows you to keep your investment per item the same, while increasing your overall investment.

Pros: An important advantage of this strategy is that it offers diversification. This means that if some of your items undergo an unexpected price change, your bottom line is still protected by the remainder of your investments. Another advantage is that it increases the amount of ISK you handle each day. More orders means more chances for your order to be fulfilled. Remember that each time you spend or receive ISK, you are in the process of turning a profit. By diversifying your orders, you can increase the amount of ISK you are able to make each day.

Cons: The main disadvantage of this strategy is that it increases the amount of market PVP you have to do. You’ll need to spend more time updating orders each time you check the market. The result is that your daily time investment in station trading increases. Another disadvantage is that the quantity of active orders you can have has a hard cap. You’ll need to train your skills up to increase this cap, which draws training time away from your main.

Item Price

Another investment strategy for high capital station trading is to trade in more expensive items. This simplifies the resale process. For example, rather than dealing with 100,000 units of ammunition, you resell a single ship. Implemented correctly, this technique could allow you to maintain the same returns you saw starting out.

Pros: This strategy allows you to increase the quantity you invest without also increasing the number of active orders you have. This means that a lower skilled player can invest more ISK without needing to skill up. You’ll also spend less time updating orders, as fewer orders means fewer clicks.

Cons: However, this strategy also has drawbacks. Fewer orders means less diversification, a risky position to hold. A price change in a high value item can be devastating to your bottom line, especially if you’ve already purchased the item.

Order Volume

A third investment strategy for high capital station trading is to increase the volume of your orders. For example, rather than placing a buy order for 10 shield boosters, you would place an order for 100. When trading in items with a high volume movement, this technique can also help maintain your returns.

Pros: Increasing order volume increases your investment without increasing the number of active orders you have. While similar to trading in expensive items, these strategies have a key difference: your item is not indivisible. If you purchase 100 shield boosters, each booster may have a different purchase and sale price. A change in the market could mean that you sell 85 boosters for a profit, and 15 for a loss, a net positive outcome.

Cons: The same divisibility can work to your disadvantage. You may sell 15 boosters for a profit, and 85 for a loss, a net negative outcome. For this reason, care must be taken when implementing this strategy, as it is sensitive to volatile markets.

The Best High Capital Station Trading Strategy

They key when station trading with a large amount of capital is to combine the above strategies. Increasing order quantity will provide the largest increase in return on investment. However, it also increases the time needed to update orders. If you don’t mind spending hours updating orders each day, it is certainly the best strategy for you. Balancing the three strategies, however, will be most useful for the majority of players.

Ensure that you have the highest quantity of orders possible while also remaining within your time limits for station trading. If you would rather only spend half an hour each day updating orders, then increasing the ISK per order might work better for you. Also keep an eye on the margin and both buy and sell volume of the items you trade; don’t put too much ISK into an item that doesn’t move. You don’t want to find yourself with a few hundred million ISK worth of low margin merchandise that won’t sell on the market.

Comment below if you have any questions, or suggestions for future guides. Fly dangerous, comrades o7

Toxicity959 has been playing EVE Online since 2008. Through years of trial and error, he has tested strategies for making EVE Online ISK to bring you only the most effective techniques to making ISK with as little effort as possible.